You Were Always There
by maggiemay13
Summary: Hermione hasn't been herself at all. Ron, her boyfriend, is different then he seems. He isn't the nice, sweet, hilarious guy everyone thinks he is. Facing some astonishing news, Hermione finds out whose really there for her, and who she really loves. (Dramione) I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, JUST THE STORY.
1. Chapter 1

It was almost her lunch break. Hermione Granger sat at her desk trying to focus and get the pile of work that sat in front of her finished. She put her hands to her head, a headache forming across her forehead. Nothing had felt right this week at all. She was tired from her sleepless nights. She tossed and turned, her stomach in a knot, her head spinning. Dark circles formed under her eyes. She looked AWFUL. There was a knock at her door.

"Come in." She said absentmindedly.

"Oh, hey Harry." She said, emotionless.

"Mione, are you alright?" Harry asked, "You haven't been yourself this week, and it looks like you haven't gotten any sleep."

Hermione smiled at her best friend. He always made an effort to care for her, and it made her happy that he'd noticed her state of mind. Though recently Harry hadn't focused on Hermione much because of Ginny, she still knew he cared, and that made her feel better.

"I'm fine Harry, like you said, I just haven't been sleeping well. Maybe I'm coming down with something." She sounded distant. Harry frowned.

"Well alright, if you say so. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." He gave her a small smile and left her office.

Hermione decided to take her lunch break and walk around outside. The ministry can get stuffy and dull, so it was nice to have some fresh air. She stopped outside a cute café, and decided to go in and get a salad and some tea. Strolling in, she felt fine until she saw him. Ugh. Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy now worked in the Ministry. He was surprised that they allowed him to do so, considering his parents, and regrettably him, worked for Lord Voldemort. Draco didn't feel himself lately. He was 20, turning 21 soon, and he wasn't even excited for his birthday. In fact. Draco Malfoy had a huge change of heart after you-know-who left, and no one knew why.

Instead of throwing insults at people, his eyes were dark, he never smiled, and he turned quiet. Most people assumed it was because he was ashamed of his actions in the final battle, but Draco himself knew there was much more it then that. Everything he had done at Hogwarts had been a mistake, but one thing in particular stuck out to him- he was absolutely brutal to someone he never truly wanted to hurt.

Sipping his coffee, deep within his work, he never noticed Hermione Granger walk in, and she was thankful. Hopefully she could just get her lunch and leave without him noticing.

She held her breath as she strolled by, but he still didn't look up. She kept stealing glances at him for an unknown reason, which she convinced herself was checking to make sure he didn't notice her.

Every time she glanced at him, she was surprised to find something changed about the familiar ass of a child. He had grown out of his childish form, and was now a man, and a good looking one. His blond hair was thick and messy, shaping his face. His body was grown and muscular, and he'd lost that nasty, whiny, Malfoy look. _No._ She thought to herself, _I can never think Draco Malfoy is attractive._ Suddenly, Draco felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking up, he caught the eyes of a woman. Those eyes. Those big brown eyes. Hermione Granger.

She was more beautiful then he remembered. She had really grown up. Her teeth were whitened, and her hair was combed and straight instead of bushy and frizzy. She'd really grown into her figure, and the slight amount of makeup she wore made her eyes pop. She actually looked rich, with her stylish office clothes and modern briefcase. Of course, she was holding at least two books. Something was off though. She didn't look like the headstrong mudblood that he once knew. She pressed her lips together.

"Ugh he caught me looking at him." She mumbled. She waited for that familiar smirk, but it never came. He gave her a very very small and thin smile, nodded, and then returned to his work.

Hermione tried not to stare at him for the rest of her wait in line. He looked at her and felt the pang of sadness, that guilt. Look at her now. _She's beautiful, I'm shite. _He thought miserably to himself.

Getting her food took longer than she thought. The service was rude, got her order wrong, and to top it off, one of the cashiers had screamed at a house elf. Hermione scowled at the cashier for being rude and yelling. Now angry, she stormed towards the door.

_Oh no,_ she thought,_ I have to walk passed Malfoy._ Feeling flustered as ever, she hurried passed his table, but just her luck, all of the books she'd been carrying toppled from her grasp right in front of Malfoy.

All of the insults she thought he would fire at her were coming to mind, when he did the COMPLETE unexpected. He slid off his chair, bent down, picked up the books, and gingerly handed them to her.

"Careful, Her-Granger." He stuttered.

Why did he stutter? I mean yeah she was beautiful, but he'd seen many beautiful wome-oh those eyes. She was looking at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. _No Draco, you could never find her that attractive,_ he told himself.

"Th-Thanks." She said softly, with that expression still on her face.

Tears came to her eyes. She had expected the worst of him, and he did the exact opposite. She wondered why she was being emotional, and quickly wiped her eyes, making sure she wasn't crying.

"Are you… alright Granger?'

"Yes, I'm sorry Malfoy, I'll let you get back to what you were doing."

She tripped on the garbage can behind her. He smirked, not like usual though, and said, "Would you like to stay?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Stay…?" Hermione stammered.

_Wait. Pull it together Hermione. _Malfoy was making her weak and she didn't like it. I mean, come on. Malfoy? REALLY Hermione?

She sighed and said, "No, I'm sure you wouldn't want to eat lunch with a MUDBLOOD." When she said mudblood he flinched and sighed. "

Malfoy I need to go." She remarked coldly.

"About that name…" he started.

"No Malfoy, I don't want to hear it. I'm sick and tired of you being a prat and strutting around like you own everything just because you're a pureblood and your family has got money. Please leave me alone, I've had a bad enough week and I really don't need you making it worse."

She dropped her head and began crying. At this point, Draco just sat there and looked at her with nervous eyes. _What is with this woman?! I'm trying to be nice and she just starts crying. The second time today she's gotten upset. _

"Granger…all I was going to say is I apologize for being so rotten to you in school. I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but I want you to know that I'm sorry. Hermione stopped crying and looked at him, puzzled.

"Malfoy I'm so sorry for crying, I don't even know what's gotten into me. I haven't been doing well all week."

He chuckled. Women. "Why don't you sit down? We can talk about it if you'd like." He suggested cautiously.

"Is this some kind of joke?" she asked suspiciously.

"No. I promise."

Hermione sighed. "Alright."

Surprisingly, Hermione had a wonderful time with Draco. He was funny and sweet, and his smirk had changed from an ignorant-brat smirk to a handsome-flirty smirk. He told her jokes and teased her lightly causing her to blush excessively, and Hermione hadn't remembered a time that she had laughed this hard in the past few months. Draco enjoyed it just as much, and he was happy to see her again, giggling and cackling like a hyena. After he had cheered her up a bit, she began to speak of her troubles, and she got extremely personal without realizing it.

"So what's been troubling you this week, darling?" he asked her with his Draco charm.

Hermione glared at him, then softened her look. "Well… it's a long story."

"I've got time." Draco said. She sighed. "It's kind of personal, Malfoy, so I don't know if you want to hear about it."

He smirked and said "Ohhh is this about you and Weasley?"

"How did you know." She chuckled. He grinned at her expectantly, "Begin when you're ready."

"Fine. Well he's just been different lately. I don't know. Everyone says he's so sweet and nice and funny. He's Ron. The middle child that everyone pushes aside. Actually, he's quite pushy and aggressive. He's always yelling at me, lecturing me because I have too many books around, or the kitchen isn't clean, or my dress isn't tight enough."

Malfoy's eye brows went up, but he kept quiet, wanting her to feel comfortable.

"He's just a nightmare to live with. Period. I have no freedom, he doesn't trust me, and we're supposed to get married. I mean he hasn't proposed yet, but I know he will soon because his mother wants him to." She sighed.

Malfoy gazed at her, in so much pain, desperate for freedom. He could relate to her with his father. His father was always on him about things, and a drove him insane.

"Finally, he-"she stopped abruptly. "Never mind." She said quickly, looking away.

"No tell me!" Draco said instantly.

"No Malfoy it's too… personal." Malfoys eyes widened and his face turned bright red with anger. Pushy and aggressive? "He's forcing himself on you isn't he." Malfoy growled through gritted teeth.

Hermione looked at him as if he had just killed someone. "How-did-you-know-"she stuttered.

"IM GOING TO KILL HIM. IM GOING TO BEAT HIM SO BADLY THAT HE'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO STAND UP AGAIN!" Malfoy bellowed.

"Malfoy sit down and take a deep breath." Hermione hissed, since he'd attracted a bunch of attention to their table. "Why do you even care?" she questioned.

_Because it's you, Hermione._ He sighed and said "It's just inappropriate."

"He's only done it once… and it wasn't awful. I guess I didn't protest enough. Let's change the subject, please?"

They began to talk about work, politics, music, and more. The pair were thoroughly enjoying themselves, and Hermione's color returned to her face (a little more than normal, actually) and Draco's smile returned. Draco had noticed that Hermione kept getting up for more food. A salad, a sandwich, a donut, a candy bar.

"So what, are you pregnant?" he joked due to her appetite and emotional behavior.

Hermione nearly spit her tea out. "How dare you!" she snapped, slamming her drink down. "WOAH Granger, relax, I was only joking!"

"Oh." Hermione said, embarrassed. "Actually, I'd better go, I wonder what time it is." She checked her watch. "THREE THIRTY?" she screeched "I was supposed to be at the office two hours ago! I'm sorry Malfoy, but I have to go." She said as she pulled out money to pay him back (he'd gotten up and got her more food earlier).

"Nah Granger, I got this, just go back to work." He smiled at her.

"Are you sure?" she asked concerned. "Yeah, just go." He said considerately.

"Thank you, Draco." She said and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye!" she called. He blushed and yelled, "Hey Granger, I had fun."


	3. Chapter 3

Skipping all the way home, Hermione felt extremely cheerful. It felt good to be happy again. She didn't really get why she felt differently, but a certain blond haired man kept creeping into her head…

"Draco. Draco? DRACO." "Wha?" Draco snapped out of his daze. "Back to earth now? What's up?"

"Nothing. Sorry just…zoned out a bit…"

Draco was staring into space all day. He kept thinking about his date with Hermione. Okay, it wasn't a date, she was with the Weasel, but he liked to think it was. He kept laughing to himself about her outrageous appetite and her sweet giggle.

"EARTH TO DRACO."

"Yeah I'm listening." He replied glumly.

"Okay, who is she?"

Draco looked at him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know. All this gazing and smiling while staring at the wall. There's obviously a new babe you're going with."

"You say that like I'm always on dates. I haven't dated anyone since sixth year."

"Right, but that doesn't mean the ladies don't love you. I mean you're rich, so you have a natural advantage."

Draco scowled at him. Gathering his things, he tried to push Hermio- GRANGER out of his mind. Yeah, maybe he had a small crush on her, but no one was going to know, and that was fine. Strolling back to his apartment, he felt cheery instead of depressed. His Malfoy charm had returned.

Hermione danced to the music she played in the kitchen. She wore a tight skirt and blouse (for Ron) and cooked dinner the muggle way (for Ron). Twirling around the table, Hermione giggled and pretended to dance with a handsome tall gentlemen, who just so happened to have grey eyes and light hair. Hermione gasped. "No." she said aloud, and immediately pretended she was dancing with an average height pudgy man with red hair and freckles.

Hermione was ready to fix thinks with her long-lasting boyfriend. She truly felt happy again, and she believed that if they both talked and worked things out, that everything would be as it was when they felt so in love.

All of a sudden, she heard Ron enter through the fireplace. Hurrying, she turned off the music and smiled.

"Hi honey!" she called. "I made dinner, your favorite. I even did it the muggle way." She said cheerily.

"Hi." Ron said steadily. He walked over and kissed her cheek, and sank down into a kitchen chair. Hermione did the same, and she began to serve herself. "Help yourself silly." She remarked to Ron.

Hermione couldn't help but notice that Ron was a bit fidgety during dinner. He kept shifting in his chair and rubbing his head. After they'd cleaned up, Ron suggested that they have a drink. With a wave of her wand, Hermione poured them some wine.

"Hermione, there's something I need to discuss with your. More like tell you." Ron said.

"Yes me too, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"You remember Pansy Parkinson from school, right?"

"That awful Slytherin girl that always picked on us? How could I forget?"

"Well she's not THAT awful. I mean, she's better now." Ron said with a smile. "Much better."

"Okay…" Hermione said steadily.

Ron sighed. "I just don't think you and I… are working out."

Hermione stared at him. Sure, they'd been having their troubles, but she did NOT expect a breakup. It was strange how he brought up Pansy and then dumped her. Had he been cheating on her?

"H-have you b-been s-seeing P-pansy?" Hermione said, voice trembling.

"Not… really. Just… wanting too?" Ron said hopefully.

Hermione got up and slammed her chair into the table.

"FINE. JUST LEAVE THEN. GO. GET OUT." She sobbed.

"Great. Look Herm, I'm sorry, but I think were just better as friends. I thought you felt the same way since you said you wanted to talk to me…"

"That's all you can say?! That's absolutely ridiculous! After everything we've been through?! We fought like a married couple since first year! I was going to try and fix things with you tonight, but I guess I was wrong. I can't believe my stupidity. Go. I can't bare to see you."

"Fine." Ron said. With a wave of his wand, he packed up his things, and disapparated from their apartment."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione woke up on her sofa with a pounding head and about four beer bottles around her. She groaned and sat up, recalling the events of the previous evening.

How could Ron just randomly decide that they weren't right for each other? Of course the argument had been brewing for weeks, and she should have noticed. She was so blinded by Ron's innocent and we-should-feel-sorry-for-Ron image, that she didn't see the reality: Ron wanted the trophy wife.

He figured Hermione would be perfect, because she was the sweet, innocent, beautiful muggleborn who saved the wizarding world beside Harry Potter and himself. What wasn't perfect about her?

That she was nerdy and too gentle in bed, that she was too strong-minded. And let's face it, she wasn't sexy enough for him. Pansy at least wore something that hugged her.

Hermione knew this was all true as this ran through her head. The problem was she didn't know how to be a trophy wife, yet alone sexy. She just wanted to be who she was, in her world of love, naivety, and happiness. Ron took that away from her.

Hermione stood, feeling dizzy, and stumbled to the bathroom to ready herself for work. This was her first bad hangover, and honestly, she could go for never drinking again. She washed her face and freshened up. She threw on whatever work clothes stuck out first in her closet, pulled her hair into a low ponytail, and slumped out the door.

Of course the news about Granger and the Weasel breaking up surprised Draco. He personally had hoped she had broken his sorry heart, but unfortunately, he'd been almost cheating on her with the biggest slut in Hogwarts. Draco tried to tell himself he didn't care that Hermione was single, but it just kept creeping back into his mind.

When she walked into the office, Granger looked horrible. She wobbled into her office, and slammed the door. Draco didn't know what to make of it.

"Drrrrrrrrraco." Oh God, here came Blaise. "What's up Zabini?" Draco replied, dazed. "Hey did you hear about Granger and Weasley?" "Yeah, I just noticed Granger walk in, she looks like shit." "That's unfortunate. She normally looks sexy, and I was going to show her some Italian charm today." Draco felt his face go hot, but he didn't want Blaise to know, so he turned away. "I've got work to do, Zabini." Blaise nodded, and swaggered out of his office.

Ten minutes later, Draco couldn't take it anymore. He had to see Granger. She looked awful, and he needed to know what really happened with the Weasel. He softly rapped on the door.

"Granger? You in here?"

He paused. Not hearing a response, he knocked a second time. He heard a moan. "Oi Granger, I'm coming in." Draco opened the door a found a very discombobulated Hermione Granger, with her read resting on her arms.

"Granger, are you alright?" Draco asked cautiously.

"Malfoy go away."

"Awe come on Granger, you don't remember yesterday?"

"Don't mention yesterday, it was probably the worst day of my life."

Draco looked at her. She'd returned to the state he'd found her in the previous morning: run down, stressed, and unhappy. He didn't like it. He wasn't used to the famous Hermione Granger being in such a predicament. All of a sudden, the door burst open.

"Hermione, honey! Oh my God my brother is such an arse! I can't believe- oh Mione, you look terrible!"

"Hi Gin, yeah I know. Malfoy could you give us some privacy please?"

"Yeah Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Just checking to see if Granger here was alright." He replied.

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. Draco looked at her funny, and then remembered he was Draco Malfoy, not some softy.

"That is, checking if she was alright to finish this file. Still tracking past death eaters, you know. She needs to send it down to the savior, also known as your potty head husband. So if you'll excuse me, I don't need to socialize with such…. Well you people." And with that, he stalked out of the room.

"What's with him? Oh ANYWAY. Do you want to stay at my house? Or I could come to your flat, you probably don't want to be alone!"

Hermione was still staring after Malfoy when she replied "No Gin, what would Harry think? I'm getting over it, really. I knew it was brewing, and I guess we were never in love, we just loved each other. Actually, I'm quite offended he left me for-"And she lost it. Bawling in her office with her ex's sister comforting her. How HUMILIATING. She sobbed and sobbed, broken, shattered, and miserable. Even though Ginny was there for her, Hermione had never felt so alone in her entire life.


	5. Chapter 5

**PLEASE READ QUICKLY**

**Hi guys, thanks for the reviews! One person didn't like that Hermione let Ron force himself on her. I understand that Hermione probably wouldn't let that happen, but you'll understand why it had to happen later in the story.**

**I fixed the spacing in chapters one and two so they're easier to read, sorry I didn't really get the whole thing, because this is my first fic.**

**Also, my chapters are short. My question is would you rather me write shorter chapters and post frequently, like daily or every other day, or post a long chapter once a week? I kind of like writing the shorter ones for cliff hangers, but I want to know what you all think. OKAY, enjoy chapter 5! **

Hermione raised her head. Ginny must have decided to give her some alone time. She wiped her face and pulled a mirror out of her desk drawer. Staring at her reflection, it made her want to cry even more. Her eyes were puffy, and mascara covered her cheeks and under eyes. Her nose was extremely pink, and looked larger than usual. She angrily slammed the mirror down. Did Ron even understand what he's done to her? She cleaned her face and applied more makeup.

She decided to call it a day. Hopefully her boss would understand. Maybe she could as Draco to do her assignment for the day. It wasn't that difficult. She gingerly knocked on his office door.

"Come in." Draco called.

"Hi." Hermione replied, walking in. "I'm not feeling well today, could you finish this for me?"

"I could." Draco said lazily.

"Could? Please Malfoy, I-"

"Granger of course I'll do it."

_Of course Ill do it. _Draco thought to himself. _I'm such a softie. _Looking at her pleading (strained) eyes, and her adorable dimples, how could he refuse? _Adorable?! No. _

"Granger please sit down." Draco said.

She sighed heavily, and fell into the chair in front of his desk. Putting a hand do her head, she wore an expression of stress and aggravation.

"You're going to tell me what's going on with you. I know you're upset about Weasley, but it's not like you to show weakness. Especially to the enemy."

Hermione glanced at him. Putting her hand into her lap, she said "I just never thought that he would ever ACTUALLY break up with me, I mean we were like the golden couple, from the golden trio."

Draco chuckled.

"What part of this do you find funny?" she snapped. "Because I feel like shite."

"I just had an idea, but it's totally outrageous."

Hermione looked at him. "What is it?"

"It's not even worth telling you, you'll never agree to it anyway."

"Says who? You haven't even told me smartarse."

Draco glared at her. His idea, in his mind, was brilliant, but even after this breakup, would she be up for humiliating Weasley?

"Just tell me. You know I'll tell you if I hate it."

"Oh that I know, trust me sweetheart."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Alright Granger. You know the annual ball in honor of the war?"

"Obviously, I mean it used to feature me. Used to."

"Right. Anyway, I was thinking, instead of you wearing your, you know, eight year old look?"

She scowled.

"You should wear something that oh, I don't know, shows you off a bit? Wear some makeup, fancy hair, Weasley will just die."

Hermione stared at Draco. She had to admit, the plan was quite interesting, and it could work, however, if Ron takes Pansy, there's no way Hermione could even catch his eye, because he'd be too busy staring at Pansy's lengthy legs, because of how short her dress will be.

"I don't know, it's just-"

"See, I knew you wouldn't like the idea." Draco remarked, cutting her off.

"You didn't let me finish. I never inquired that I didn't like it. I merely was analyzing the obvious flaw. There's no way in Merlin that I could compete with Pansy." said Hermione, annoyed.

Draco made a face.

"In my eyes, I'd rather be with you then Pansy any day."

Hermione suddenly felt a blush cover her pale cheeks. She looked away quickly reminded herself Draco was just trying to persuade her to try his plan.

"Well… I guess I could just give it a go. There's no harm in looking nicer anyway."

Draco sat there with a smile of disbelief and glee. Had she really just agreed?!

"What's the plan though, Malfoy? I mean, I'm going to need some coaching, and a new wardrobe, and a new look…"

"I'll be your coach, Miss Granger." Malfoy said with a smirk.

Hermione chuckled. "Alright, Mr. Malfoy, when's my first lesson… or practice, rather."


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione was excited about her first lesson with Malfoy… it should be interesting. She looked in the mirror on her closet door one last time. She wore leggings and a cardigan that covered her bottom. She also wore a tank top and some cute boots. She heard a knock at her door. Quickly applying some lip gloss, she walked to answer it. She opened the door to find Draco, looking handsome yet perfect, as always. Wait what? _No! No no no no Hermione. _

"Ready Grange?" he asked casually, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah, couldn't be more ready!" she replied cheerily.

Draco rolled his eyes a bit. "Let's get going then."

Draco led Hermione into a cute Witch shop filled with stylish and expensive clothes. Hermione, thrilled, went through each rack, picking things up as she went along. Draco smirked at her and picked out some other things that he thought would suit her much better for revenge on Weasley.

"I'm ready to try things on." She said to Draco from across the store.

"Alright let's see what you got." Draco answered, sitting down outside the dressing room.

The clothes Hermione picked out looked pretty on her, but nothing she picked out would blow Weasley away.

Draco sighed. "Granger, that's cute and all, but we're looking to blow Weasley away."

Hermione scowled at him. "Fine asshole, let's see what YOU picked out."

Draco chuckled and handed Hermione his selections. She sniffed at them and walked back into the dressing room with a huff, mumbling something that sounded a lot like "stupid Malfoy".

Hermione had to admit, when she but Malfoy's choices on, she looked…. Hot. He picked out mostly fitted dresses that cut mid-thigh, blazers, and heels. She strutted out goofily and modeled them for Malfoy.

Draco had never seen anything so amazing. When Hermione came out in the first outfit he thought he was going to stand up and press his lips onto hers, and embrace her perfect body. Each color looked good on her, she could wear no wrong.

"What do you think Malfoy?" Hermione questioned as she modeled the first outfit.

Draco stared.

"Malfoy?"

Still staring.

"MALFOY!"

"Just…stunning."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. _Stunning._

"Uh, I mean… you look nice Granger. This should all work."

"Oh okay, thanks, uhm which one should I take?"

"Well all of them of course." Draco replied, puzzled.

Hermione sighed. "Malfoy we're not all as rich as you."

Draco scratched his head. "Well yeah but that doesn't really matter." He said walking over to the counter, handing the witch his credit card.

"Oh… Malfoy please I can get it they're my clothes!"

"Nonsense Ganger this was my idea." Draco replied firmly.

Hermione looked at him. He was paying for all of this… I mean he's rich but the clothing was even expensive for him. When they walked out, Hermione thanked him.

"I mean really, that was so kind of you. Thank you." She gushed as they walked on the sidewalk.

"Granger, seriously. It's not that big of a deal."

_It is to me._ Hermione thought to herself. Ron never bought her things. She didn't expect him to buy her six dresses like Malfoy did obviously, I mean, Ron didn't have the money. But he never bought her any clothes or jewelry or even books.

"Why don't we get some lunch?" Draco asked. He was starving, and so was she after all of the shopping.

"That would be lovely," Hermione stated, "Look, there's that muggle café, we should go there."

Draco agreed, and once they'd ordered their drinks, Draco said, "So you seem to be feeling better."

"Yes, a lot. Thanks to you. I mean, he hasn't seen anything yet but the plan should work. Could we get a gown for the ball tomorrow? I can't wait!"

Draco chuckled. He loved her bubbly personality, and was glad the old Granger was back.

"Sounds good." He replied. Hermione grinned, and he smiled in return. Little did they know there were pictures being snapped behind them.


End file.
